BISMARCK, N.D. – Al Bortke, the legendary former University of Mary athletic director and men's basketball coach, has died. Leaving behind innumerable people whose lives he has touched as a coach, mentor and friend, Coach Bortke passed away on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, at the age of 78.
The first athletic director at U-Mary and the second head men's basketball coach, Bortke served the university for 36 years. He oversaw the growth of an athletic department that went from one team to as many as 19 and also coached the Marauders to over 300 victories on the hard court.
"While Al's place as a history maker at the University of Mary in over 36 years of service is acknowledged in Bortke Court in the McDowell Activity Center, the place he holds deep in the hearts of those who knew him is one of deep esteem and loving friendship," stated University of Mary President Monsignor James Shea. "Al Bortke exemplified the meaning and spirit of developing the potential of others and administering with integrity. Providing strong role modeling through his own involvement in Special Olympics, Al Bortke promoted a continuing expectation that student athletes respond to community needs as volunteer. His was a lifetime of 'pursuing victory with honor' as an extraordinary, trustworthy, and greatly respected servant leader."
"Al was the cornerstone for University of Mary athletics for close to four decades, growing the Marauders from one team to a department that reached national prominence and made a successful transition to NCAA Division II," said Marauders athletic director
Roger Thomas. "When I came to campus, Al warmly welcomed me and was a tremendous help my first year here. We developed a personal friendship that I treasured and I will greatly miss him."
Bortke's legendary run began in 1973, when he assumed the dual role as U-Mary athletic director and head men's basketball coach.
On the basketball court, Bortke compiled a record of 335-157 in 16 seasons from 1973 to 1989. He is second in career wins among all college men's basketball coaches in North Dakota history. Eleven times the Marauders registered 21 or more wins, including one stretch of seven straight seasons and 10 out of 11 years. Only twice did the Marauders suffer a losing season.
The high point occurred in 1981-82 when U-Mary went 30-3 and advanced to the national tournament. The 30 wins remains a single season school record and that squad was the inaugural entry into the Marauders Hall of Fame with Bortke in 1991. It is also the only U-Mary men's basketball team to advance to a national tournament.
As athletic director, he helped launch the University of Mary into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) where the Marauders became a national power in several women's and men's sports. During this period he received many honors, including several athletic director of the year awards, became the first inductee into the Marauders Hall of Fame, and in 2006, was enshrined in the NAIA Hall of Fame.
The U-Mary athletic program started with one sport — men's basketball — and grew to as many as 19 team under Bortke's direction. He helped pioneer the school's entrance into National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II — a step considered even more impressive when the NCAA waived the school's final two transitional years allowing U-Mary to become one of the quickest to achieve active membership in NCAA history in 2007.
Bortke stepped down as the U-Mary athletic director in July 2008.
At the time of his retirement, then University of Mary President Sister Thomas Welder stated "no person has done more for the University of Mary athletic program than Al Bortke. Beyond what he has meant to this university, his strong values have touched the lives of so many coaches and student athletes and people in the Bismarck-Mandan community, as well as his own family.
Since retiring from U-Mary, Bortke continued to be active throughout the community and in his church, and served as co-chair of the successful capital campaign to renovate the Bismarck Municipal Ballpark.
A native of Hettinger, N.D., Al was married to his wife Linda for 54 years and the couple had two sons, Todd and Paul.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Church of the Ascension, 1825 S 3rd St, Bismarck. Visitation will be held from 4 – 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, at Church of the Ascension, where a vigil/rosary will begin at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.
Further arrangements are pending with Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck. (See more at:
http://www.eastgatefuneral.com/obituary/Al-Bortke/Bismarck-ND/1545789#sthash.DAwFdY1r.dpuf)
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When Al Bortke retired in 2009, he shared some thoughts from his 36 years at the University of Mary. We would like to share them with you again:
Favorite Moment: "The day I signed a contract at the University of Mary, and then to see it extended. There have been so many great moments here, from starting new programs to team successes. All of those moments are precious to me.
"As the men's basketball coach, our 1981-82 team was the first ever at U-Mary and the first North Dakota team in 20 years to advance to the NAIA national tournament. It was different to reach that tournament than today. There were no at large teams selected so we had to win an independent tournament and a district championship. Going into the season we didn't feel we had a good recruiting class. We told the team we were going to push them harder than we had ever pushed them before and that they needed to push me and assistant coach Dave Godfread. We finished 30-3 that season. Our losses were at Minnesota Duluth during Thanksgiving, and they had five transfers from the University of Minnesota. We lost by one point at Black Hills State. At the national tournament, we lost in the first round to the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire in overtime, who was ranked second or third in the nation."
Most Gratifying Achievement: "Seeing our athletic department grow and become a national power in the NAIA and moving into NCAA Division II and getting two years knocked off the timeline for becoming an active member. It's also a happy time when I get to see our student-athletes graduate."
What will be your legacy at U-Mary? "I really have never looked at myself when thinking about a legacy. I'm much more used to looking at others. I hope that the people who played for me thought that I was hard-nosed but fair with them. As an athletic director, I treated all our programs with integrity and fairness."
Most Surprising Achievement: "Our 1981-82 team was a surprise. We didn't have high expectations at the start of the year. The surprise was how well we played at the beginning of the year but it was no longer a surprise at the end because of the great chemistry the team had together. It was an unbelievable season. Kenny Hall was a great scorer, but he became a tremendous rebounder on this team and played a different role. We had tremendous players like Kevin Olson, Hank Taken Alive, Mark Kielpinski and Scott Kleinjan. But the tail end of our program was also filled with great players. Our reserves pushes the top five hard and our practice sessions were tougher than some of our games."
Fun Memory: "We were playing Eastern New Mexico and as we walked by their team I saw a 6-foot-10 center we briefly recruited out of a junior college in Wisconsin. He noticed me and shouted over that he was going to stick it to us all game. First shot we take the kid blocks it. We take a couple more shots and get them rejected, too. I call a time out and tell our players to let them block our next three shots. Our guys looked at me like I'm crazy. I explained that if they block a couple more shots, we can shot fake them all night, get them in the air and dribble right around them. Worked like we thought and we went on to win the game."
AL BORTKE TIMELINE AT U-MARY Feb. 18, 1937 — Born in Hettinger, ND
1956 — Graduated high school, Hettinger
1973-1989 — U-Mary's second head men's basketball coach/first athletic director
1989 — Named full-time athletic director
1991 — Inducted into the University of Mary Hall of Fame/First class of inductees
2000 — North Dakota Collegiate Athletic Conference, Region III AD of the Year
NAIA Athletic Director of the Year
NACADA Central Region AD of the Year
2000-2001 NAIA National Athletic Director of the Year
2001 — Valley City State University Distinguished Alum
2004 — Special Olympics of North Dakota Hall of Fame
2004-2005 — Dakota Athletic Conference Athletic Director of the Year
2006 — Dollars for Scholars Celebrate North Dakotans
Inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame
2007 — U-Mary approved for active membership in NCAA (one of the quickest in NCAA history)
July 2008 – Becomes U-Mary's Associate Athletic Director
June 30, 2009 – Retires from U-Mary
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